Episode 33 – Marathon des Sables and Adam Campbell
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This weeks show honours the injured and fallen at Boston Marathon. We have daily chat from the Marathon des Sables (Tobias Mews, Danny Kendall and Stuart Rae) bivouac and interviews with top placed Brits, Danny Kendall and Jo Meek. We interview Arc’teryx athlete, Adam Campbell. We discuss Mojo in Talk Training with Niandi Carmont, we have ‘A year in the life of…’ a Blog, Speedgoat, the News and ‘Up & Coming Races’.
00:00:44 Start
00:18:40 A year in the life of… with Amanda Hyatt. Amanda has been struggling with training and recently run the Brighton Marathon.
00:29:30 News from around the ultra world
00:35:40 MDS special from the bivouac with chat from Stuart Rae, Danny Kendall and Stuart Rae.
01:11:55 Back to the news
01:18:45 MDS special – after 28 editions of the race, Danny Kendall has surpassed James Cracknell and is now the highest ever placed Brit in the race.
01:35:40 MDS special – Jo Meek entered the MDS several years ago and in 2012 got the nod that 2013 would be the year. With no experience of multi day racing, Jo wanted to finish the race but also perform to the best of her ability – she made the podium in 2nd place!
015215 Blog – Nick Cark always writes an in depth blog about his running HERE
01:52:55 Back to Karl
01:55:30 Talk Training – have you lost your Mojo? We discuss ways to get your mojo back with Niandi Carmont.
02:03:10 Interview – with Arc’teryx athlete Adam Campbell as he prepares for the 2013 season.
A former member of the Canadian National Triathlon and Duathlon teams, in 2006 Adam decided to shed the extra gear and rely solely on his running shoes to get around. He also decided to put down the stopwatch and set intervals and hit the trails.
Adam’s love for running began on the beaches of West Africa and Spain, where he spent his childhood running after soccer balls and chasing waves. It wasn’t until he moved to Canada in his late teens that he began running competitively. Adam’s love for all individual athletic challenges quickly saw him jump into the multi-sport world of triathlons and duathlons where he was renown for his running ability, which saw him win a national duathlon title.
However the drudgery and structure of training and racing for triathlons caught up with him and he began to seek out new challenges. After running the roads for a year, he jumped into his first trail race in 2007 and a new love was born. Adam qualified for the Canadian Mountain Running Team in his first trail race and continued to post the best ever finish by a Canadian at a Mountain Running World Championship at the Jungfrau Marathon, a gruelling 42k uphill run with 6000ft elevation gain from start to finish.
His running goals are to seek out interesting challenges in inspiring settings. A lifelong traveler and racer, Adam’s new belief is: if you are going to be suffering, you might as well suffer somewhere beautiful!
Occupation: Trail runner/law student (environmental, aboriginal, employment law)
Favourite Trail: anywhere I haven’t run before
Favourite Place to run: Soft & hilly terrain. Summer alpine runs
Favourite Race: Comfortably Numb, Whistler BC/ Jungfrau Marathon, Interlaken Switzerland
Favourite Distance: I will race anyone, anywhere…
02:33:20 A Meltzer Moment
02:36:20 Up & Coming Races
02:41:25 Close
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Pictures tell stories…
I love what I do! I really do.
To work in a race environment and capture the action in words or audio is a real pleasure. I have played with video and although I enjoy the medium, I do prefer a ‘still’ image. It is a moment captured.
These two images really capture everything that combines to make a great image.
Meghan Hicks on the first stage of the 2013 Marathon des Sables (which she went on to win) running up a dune on the first day. I captured the image by running alongside her.
From behind, my fellow photographer, Mark Gillett captures the process involved. Story making at its best, running at its best and the use of imagery at its best. I have often been asked HOW? I manage to capture images that make the viewer feel like they are in the moment… well here is how.
Copyright Mark Gillett
Pictures tell stories… thanks for the inspiration Meghan and thanks for capturing Mark.
Lizzy Hawker to attempt new record!
Lizzy Hawker is going to attempt to break her own 3-day record for running 319km from Everest Basecamp to Kathmandu run.
At 7am on Thursday 18th April internationally renowned endurance athlete Lizzy Hawker began a solo run in the direction of Kathmandu some 319km (198 miles) away.
She is the world record holder for the ‘Everest Mailrun’ the route taken by those carrying letters to and from expeditions at Everest Base Camp before the opening of Lukla airstrip in 1964.
Lizzy Hawker at TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless
record stands at 71 hours 25 minutes, completed in November 2011. She made her first attempt of the run in 2007 with two friends which took 74 hours 36 minutes with just 4 hours sleep in Jiri.
The last Nepali runner to hold the record was Kumar Limbu in 3 days 7hrs and 10mins set in May 2000.
The route is brutally hilly with more than 10,000m ascent and nearly 15,000m descent.
Hawker, who was named a National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2013, won the 100K world championship in 2006, set a 24-hour world record by running 247km at the Commonwealth Championships in September 2011, and set a course record for women in the 250km Spartathlon Ultra Race in Greece last year.
Lizzy Hawker TNFUTMB copyright Ian Corless
“I try to focus on running the very best that I can, literally moment by moment,” Hawker recently told the New York Times, “If I’m in pain or tired, I don’t have to fight it. I can be in myself, in the environment. It’s amazing what you can do running moment to moment.”
Hawker fuels herself on simply banana cake and cheese sandwiches and likes dal but prefers roti to rice.
She is expected to reach Jiri at 4pm Friday and reach the Rangashalla stadium late Saturday night 65 hours after starting at Base Camp.
Earlier this year The North Face sponsored athlete won the 100km Annapurna 100 race and will race the multiday Mustang Trail Race later this month.
Lizzy Hawker blog : HERE
Press Release from : http://trailrunningnepal.org
Arc’teryx announce team for Skyrunner World Series
Arc’teryx, the Canadian outdoor brand and ISF partner, announces their six-man team participating in the 2013 Skyrunner® World Series.
Arc’teryx, the Canadian outdoor brand and ISF partner, announces their six-man team participating in the 2013 Skyrunner® World Series. From the US, charismatic and eclectic runner Joe Grant is back for more and will race the Ultra Series starting with the Transvulcania Ultramarathon on May 11 where he placed 12th last year as well as a 2nd place at Hardrock 100 and a second place at the 350-mile long Iditarod Trail Invitational, the legendary Alaskan sled dog race. He’s also aiming at the Sky Series’ new Ultraks 46K in Zermatt, Switzerland.
Adam Campbell
Canadian distance runner Adam Campbell, plagued with injury last year, has got big plans for the SWS Ultra Series and he’ll be toeing the line at Transvulcania with Grant in the first of the Series Ultra races which he describes as, “a global race series in some of the most iconic mountain settings and over some very rough and technical terrain”. The SWS in a nutshell.
Italy’s Nicola Golinelli will be tackling both the Sky and Vertical Series. Last year, he chalked up two third places in the Vertical K and a fourth position at the Giir di Mont, Premana, Italy. He will debut at the highly competitive Zegama-Aizkorri marathon on May 26 where he placed 5th in 2011.
Frenchman Didier Zago, like Golinelli, will aim for both Sky and Vertical races, starting off with the Cara Amón Vertical Kilometer® on May 18, site of the 2012 SkyGames® in northern Spain.
Tessa Hill
Briton Tessa Hill joins Zago in the two disciplines and skyrunning new comer Florian Reichert from Germany, will race the Sky Series, launching at Zegama.
An intensive season of highly competitive racing faces the runners, from the short steep Vertical Kilometers to the marathon distance Sky Series and the grueling Ultra Series. With no less than five world champions competing, one thing is for sure – everyone will be racing for the love of it. Champions or not, unquestionably the driving force behind every SWS participant lies their passion for running in the mountains.
Follow news on the athletes on Facebook and Twitter and www.arcteryx.com
The Brits are coming…! Marathon des Sables 2013
You can read the full article and see images of Danny and Jo on RUN247 HERE
Marathon des Sables – Faces of 2013
Gallery
This gallery contains 71 photos.
Marathon des Sables STAGE 6
The final day of the Marathon des Sables is ‘usually’ an easy stage. Your finish is guaranteed! Almost….
Not so for the 2013 edition of the Sultan Marathon des Sables.
For the fast runners, one days rest had preceded the final competitive stage of the 28th edition of the race. However, for the slower runners who had taken over 24 hours to complete the 75.7km of the long day, rest was minimal.
The final leg was over the classic marathon distance. It was by no means and an easy day. When you add to this, plenty of sand, dunes and searing heat, it was going to be tough.
Tired limbs, sore and blistered feet moved to the start and after the obligatory briefing they were off, straight into dunes. Golden rollercoasters providing a light and dark palette. It was by far the most impressive start stage start of the entire race
In reality, the front end of the field was not going to see much change. It was guaranteed that barring a disaster; Mohamad Ahansal and Meghan Hicks would be crowned winners off the 28th Sultan Marathon des Sables.
However, Aziz El Akad and Jo Meek had different plans. Both of them ran incredibly hard over the 42km and secured two impressive stage wins. El Akad crossed the line in 03:18:36 and was awarded his medal by Patrick Bauer. In true MDS tradition, Patrick waits on the line and welcomes every runner on the last day. Jo Meek in particular ‘chicked’ many of the men with a time of 04:14:34. On the finish line the emotion and realization of what she had achieved took hold. As the tears rolled down her face she just said, “I can’t take it in. I came here to race but I never thought I would achieve second overall. Today’s distance, the classic marathon, is MY distance so I wanted to run hard”.
2012 winner, Salameh Al Aqra from Jordan finished a great 2013 race with second place in 03:26:34 and Mohamad Ahansal was close behind in 03:29:40. Danny Kendall had an inspired day and finished the race as he started with 6th on the stage with 03:46:19
Meghan Hicks finished second on the stage in 04:26:53 and after a relatively reserved crossing of the line she suddenly jumped, bounced and whoop whooped! Finally she was topping the podium at one of the most iconic races in the world.
Finishing the podium was another Brit, Zoe Salt. It really has been a year when the Brits have made a resounding presence felt and for sure, the ladies race looks very strong for the future.
The final day is all about medals and completing a journey. The finish line is a place of emotion. Every single person has a different emotion. Cheers and screams follow blank faces and hollow eyes. Tears roll down a cheek and arms are raised above heads and you hear a “yes! YES! I did it”.
The emotion, the camaraderie and the bonding of all was personified late in the evening when Didier Benguigui and his guide, Gilles arrived at the finish followed by a convoy of cars with flashing lights. An impromptu alleyway of staff with head torches and the support of many runners cheered, clapped and applauded as Didier crossed the line to complete his 10th Marathon des Sables.
Races are memories. Didier and Gilles summed up everything that one could witness in any race; devotion, sacrifice, suffering and ultimately victory.
As they walked past the line to the applause, cheers and celebrations of all, in bivouac a rock band started to warm up to provide some entertainment for tired and emotional bodies.
It was an incredible 2013 race and one that I feel honored to have witnessed
Overall Results:
Men
- Ahansal (MAR), 18h59’35
- Al Aqra (JOR), 19h41’15
- Capo Soler (ESP), 20h19’31
First Brit: Danny Kendall (GBR), 21h46’03
Ladies
- Meghan Hicks (USA), 24h42’01
- Joanna Meek (GBR), 25h41’01
- Zoe Salt (GBR), 27h03’58
LINKS TO PHOTOGRAPHY
Marathon des Sables – a race in images
A portfolio of selected imagery from the 28th edition of the Sultan Marathon des Sables is now on line in individual galleries for each day.
Please follow the links for each gallery.
Before the race – link HERE
Stage one – Link HERE
Stage Two – Link HERE
Stage Three – Link HERE
Stage Four – Link HERE
Stage Five – Link HERE
Stage Six (non-competitive charity stage) – Link HERE
Marathon des Sables 2013 Stage 4
IAN CORLESS 